Search This Blog

Subscribe to this blog

Follow by Email

Yaacob, in a crisis isn't it good to engage the blogging community?

The Minister for Communication & Information, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, has referred to me in Parliament. The Minister said that "on 22nd of June, blogger Ravi Philemon alleged that his unnamed friend said that 9 million masks will be brought into Singapore but none will be for the public. This was even as the SAF and People’s Association staff and grassroots volunteers were working hard into the early morning to ensure that 1 million masks would be distributed from warehouses to community centres and ready for distribution to households the next day."

The masks were only distributed to the People's Association (PA) and various PA Constituency Offices on Saturday afternoon (link: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/saf-distributes-masks-to/720774.html). As masks were unavailable for the general public on Friday despite government assurances on Thursday that it will be available that evening in large retail pharmacy chains, is it reasonable for people to make such assumptions? By the time the masks were rolled out to the general public on 23 June 2013 (Sunday), the haze was no longer a problem (at least temporarily).

And I would also have to categorically state that that comment was not fabricated by me, but was a comment of another's. To prove that, see this comment I posted on 21 June 2013 (Friday) at about 5 pm (http://www.facebook.com/raviphilemon/posts/10151869425963277), where I had mentioned that the Government had enough stock of these masks.

I will wait for the Hansard report to have confirmation of this, but one member of Parliament mentioned in the House today that the N95 masks were stockpiled in the Ministry of Health not for distribution to the general public, but for use by health care workers in case of a spread of viral pandemic like MERS (Middle East virus) and H7N9.

The Minister mentioned me a second time in his Speech today to say how I had rejected the idea of an Internet Code of Conduct and asked when public anxiety was highest during the days when the haze was at its worst, where I was. Pictures speak a thousand words (link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151874403228277&set=a.113442288276.99198.633378276&type=3&theater). As the haze was at its peak on Friday (PSI 401), and because there were no masks available in many of the large retail pharmacy chains in Singapore on that day, I had called a few large retail pharmacies in Johor Bahru on Friday and Saturday, to check if they had any stock; and finally when one confirmed that it had stock on Saturday, without considering the heavy traffic jam at the causeway on that day, I traveled to that pharmacy in Malaysia to buy some N95 masks using my own money, to distribute to some that would need it the most.

Most bloggers dorecognise that the problem of land and forest fires in Indonesia is a complex one, which would require the governments of different countries to work together to find a lasting solution for their citizens. Most bloggers also do support the government in their efforts to address the problem of haze. Why, even I had said so in one of my initial comments on the haze. But as a blogger, I feel that it is also my responsibility to highlight, at least some of the feelings and sentiments of the general public which may not be highlighted elsewhere. And I may not not be the only one who highlighted that some members of the public feel that they may not get the masks. For example, even MP Denise Phua had said in her column for My Paper said that 'some predicted that none of the masks will be given to the public' (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?)fbid=590044714370969&set=a.217408234967954.53891.100000963371365&type=1)Even if the Government initially seemed ill-prepared to tackle the problem of haze, it is good that they have now come out to put forth more information, which has certainly calmed the general public as they now better know how to handle such a crisis. Bloggers can only comment on what they know, so, instead of pointing fingers, perhaps, the government should engage the blogging community more to disseminate some of these information, especially in a crisis, to the general public.

Let us all continue to eradicate this parasite bacteria Yayakult and all the other you know who pests.

The pap's coverment loudest shout in this hazy hullabaloo is this: instead of helping the people to cope they have resorted to deception by asking people to trust in 3 hour and 24 hour averages. If you have 500 in the first hour, 100 in the second and 75 in the third you get a 'safe' reading of 225 for the 3 hour average. Very cunning isn't it? We should have a real time or at least quarter hourly updates. Visit here for a more thorough haze free explanation http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/06/22/nea-smokes-singaporeans-with-dinosaur-age-psi-readings/

We have a super huge budget for military spending for a tiny island. Surely we should spent some of it on air cleaning equipment which occurs more regularly than a war. The last war was in the 1940s.

With water being used industrially with some abrasives to slice through metal maybe the technology can be adapted to wash down the haze particles. Air cleaning planes and many many hot air balloons holding up a long enough water hose with holes to create a water curtain are options. Maybe we can have a National Competition for Haze-Free Ideas instead of wasting on the HAZY National CONversation! A good Government will be looking at such options or come up with even better options. The water curtain idea can be applied at apartments level and we can remain green without having to use our air conditioners which cannot match the air cleaning power of the water curtain for the benefit of everybody - air-con users as well as non users. Just a water pump, hose and water are needed. KISS!

Good Government will not depend on the whims and fancies of neighbours but will do the right thing. Cleaning up the air should be a huge part of our TOTAL DEFENSE!

Popular Posts

Former Prime Minister of Singapore, Goh Chok Tong, has taken a dig at Dr Tan Cheng Bock in his Facebook. Mr Goh said:
"Tan Cheng Bock says that Lee Kuan Yew invited him to join the PAP. Ouch! He omits to say that I put his name up to LKY. Surely I deserve some credit — or rather, blame — for who he has become now? “For Country, For People”. He has conveniently left out “For Me”!
Tan Cheng Bock was my classmate in Raffles Institution. I have known him close for over 60 years. It saddens me to see how he has “lost his way”. He is like Don Quixote tilting at windmills."
To me, it seems quite unclear if when Mr Goh said, '"For Me"!', if he was referring to Dr Tan or to himself. Mr Goh seems to be pretty hurt that Dr Tan has left him out in his Progress Singapore Party Launch speech.

It is a known fact that Dr Tan and Mr Goh were classmates. Well, in fact, Mr Goh himself mentioned this at the Ayer Rajah Constituency's 25th anniversary celebration dinner i…

The Ministry of Communication and Information (MCI) has taken out a Facebook ad titled, 'Get real about fake news', The ad is taken out after the PAP-controlled Parliament passed the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation (POFMA) Bill, with all opposition Members of Parliament voting against the Bill.

The ad draws attention to the viral hoax that Punggol Waterway Terraces had collapsed. The ad said "the hoax triggered anxiety amongst the residents", and urged Singaporeans to "say no to fake news".

It is unfortunate that a website published such an unverified report, and it is certainly unacceptable that it caused much anxiety to the residents of the development (and to all Singaporeans). The publishers and the editors of the website acted irresponsibly in posting the report of the 'collapse' without proper verification, and no one should make any excuses for them for this.

"Where were the Farid Khans and the Salleh Maricans? Why didn't they come?... Because they knew that in an open election - all things being equal - a non-Chinese candidate would have no chance."
Having contested an election as a minority candidate, I am disturbed enough by his comments to write this note. Let me explain why.

Simple answer for PM Lee

I declined invitations to contest the 2011 General Election. This was because I was at a different stage of my life. My children were much younger, I had just come back from the USA a few years before and had to re-establish my career here. I did not know if I had the temperament for public life. These were just some of the reasons why I chose to decline those invitations.

Even in 2011, the pool of people who could qualify for the Presidential race was small.…